Raymond Fairchild (March 15, 1939 – October 13, 2019) was an American banjo player from North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains.
He was widely known for his fast playing, his fancy and intricate picking, and his ability to mimic the sounds of both animals and humans.
[1] The owner of the tourist stop, Ted Sutton, taught young Fairchild about show business.
In the early 1970s, he successfully performed at the Grand Ole Opry, in a show broadcast at WSM in Nashville, Tennessee.
[4] Fairchild won five awards as a champion banjo player[5] and scored two gold records.